The present invention relates to a method of and an apparatus for automatically inserting into a connector housing, terminals of wired terminals in which each of the terminals is connected with an electric wire.
An apparatus for automatically inserting terminals of wired terminals into a connector housing is known from, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication Nos. 63-170874 and 63-164181. In this known apparatus, by gripping the electric wire of each wired terminal by a robot hand, the terminal is inserted, via an insertion guide, into each of terminal cavities for receiving the terminals, which are formed on the connector housing. This insertion guide facilitates insertion of the terminals into the terminal cavities.
However, in this known apparatus, a clamping position of the electric wire by the robot hand is required to be disposed considerably remote from the terminal such that interference between the robot hand and the insertion guide is prevented. Thus, since a distance between the clamping position of the electric wire by the robot hand and the terminal is increased, such an inconvenience may be incurred that the electric wire bends angularly at the clamping position at the time of insertion of the terminal into the terminal cavity. Especially, in the case where a guide hole of the insertion guide is formed by a tapered hole as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 63-170874, such a risk is further enhanced that the terminal is engaged with the surface of the tapered hole, thereby resulting in angular bending of the electric wire.
Another example of the apparatus is known from Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 60-119090. In this prior art apparatus, the terminal and the electric wire of each wired terminal are, respectively, clamped by a terminal chuck and a wire chuck such that the wired terminal is displaced forwards of the terminal cavities. Then, after a distal end of the terminal has been inserted into each of the terminal cavities, the wire chuck is retracted away from the electric wire and the terminal is inserted into each of the terminal cavities by the terminal chuck.
However, in this prior art apparatus, the terminal and the electric wire are, respectively, clamped by the terminal chuck and the wire chuck after the wired terminal has been transported to a predetermined location. Thus, in the case where the terminal is shifted from a predetermined position relative to the electric wire during transport of the wired terminal or linearity between the terminal and the electric wire is impaired in a contact bonding step preceding the transport, the terminal is clamped at a position away from the predetermined position by the terminal chuck. Hence, if the wired terminal is fed to the connector housing such that the terminal is inserted into the terminal cavity in this state, the terminal is not properly inserted into the terminal cavity. Meanwhile, in this prior art apparatus, the terminal chuck is required to be retracted away from the connector housing during insertion of the terminal into the terminal cavity such that interference between the terminal chuck and the connector housing is prevented. Therefore, insertion guide function of the terminal chuck for the terminal is cancelled during insertion of the terminal into the terminal cavity, thereby resulting in improper insertion of the terminal into the terminal cavity. Furthermore, since a period for retracting the terminal chuck away from the connector housing is required to be provided additionally a period required for performing the operation of inserting the terminal into the terminal cavity is increased.